Following Florida’s 31-6 loss to Alabama, junior running back Jeff Demps told Antonya English of TampaBay.com that he was just “90 percent” during the Gators’ defeat in Tuscaloosa.

Demps, who sprained his left foot against Tennessee September 18, has accumulated 735 all-purpose yards for Florida this season and serves as the unofficial spark plug for the Gator offense.

That being said, having him out of the regular rotation really hampered the Florida rushing attack against the Crimson Tide defense Saturday, which racked up only 79 yards on the ground (47 by Demps).

First of all, Demps’ injury stems from the fact that Urban Meyer and Steve Addazio are using their top speedster the wrong way.

Instead of accepting the fact that Demps thrives when he gets the ball in open space and faces defenders one-on-one down the field, they instead choose to run him between the tackles, which led to him spraining his foot.

In the future, the Gators should resort to using Emmanuel Moody and Trey Burton for up-the-middle runs and let Demps do what he does best–get around the edge and burn defensive backs.

Additionally, Florida underused Demps against the Crimson Tide and it significantly hurt the offense.

Even at just “90 percent,” Demps is still one of the best playmakers on the field and even though he told English that the injury bothers him when he runs and tries to cut, run, or come back, a gimpy Demps is still mighty quick.

The coaching staff’s hesitance to use Demps while he is nursing a foot injury is understandable, but giving him a few more carries creates just that many more opportunities for the Gators to break a potential game-changing play.